


feel like depending on me

by ElasticElla



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Pre-Canon, Timeline What Timeline, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:50:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: “Hey gorgeous. You are a hard hacker to pin down.”She instinctively jerks before cursing herself for giving confirmation, glancing at the man.





	feel like depending on me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [newyorktopaloalto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/newyorktopaloalto/gifts).

> we're just gonna pretend the pre-canon timelines match up neatly, or maybe they do the mcu is a trip bro
> 
> title from jorja smith's i am

Skye posts the Peterson footage, hopes he does decide to become a superhero. The world could use more heroes like him- down to Earth and a father. Relatable, but besides the good PR, would genuinely do good. It makes for a good day, a good night, and Skye decides to leave her van for a bit and embrace her recent wave of luck. 

She gets a free martini from a man that’s far too old to be hitting on her, the music’s heavy base helping her unwind. More people are on the dance floor than at the bar, and she likes it this way. Naturally the second she thinks it, a person sits next to her. 

“Hey gorgeous. You are a hard hacker to pin down.” 

She instinctively jerks before cursing herself for giving confirmation, glancing at the man. He’s way too good looking for the real world, sets all of her nerves on edge. 

“Easy girl. I coulda seduced you and then told you, but I respect your work. I have a project for you.” 

Skye doesn’t completely believe it, hates her cheeks for heating up anyways. God, with a face like that, she bets no one has ever told him no in his life. She tosses the rest of her drink back, leaning in a bit to hear him over the music. 

“What kind of project? I won’t break my ideals for a buck.” …and damn her curiosity for asking instead of walking away. 

His teeth glint white, come closer as he answers in her ear, “Spreading knowledge. It could save the world.” 

It’s a hell of a claim, and Skye can’t help but raise a disbelieving eyebrow. 

“There’s a nice cafe around the corner if you’re interested.” 

And damn her curiosity again, but she really wants to know what it is. If he’s simply claiming a way grander outcome or actually going after a huge corporation or an international corrupt network or something else- the possibilities are tantalizing. 

Once they’re out of the club he introduces himself as Erik, and he’s way too smooth, she hadn’t been concerned with not having a name. Armed with a tidy espresso, the last bits of tipsiness fade away, and she asks, “So what do you want me to hack?” 

He chuckles, “Nah, they use all vibranium tech. You won’t be able to get in that way.” 

“Vibranium?” Skye echoes, confused. “Like Captain America’s shield? No one in the world should have enough of the element to influence software. The weapon capabilities alone… that’d be an international powder-keg.” 

His grin is too knowing, all temptation. “Uh huh. I need the real coordinates of Wakanda. They shouldn’t be hiding their gifts from the world.” 

“Alright,” Skye says slowly. “Give me a few weeks to look into it.” 

Erik nods, scribbles on the back of a napkin, “This is me whenever you’re done.” 

.

The deeper her dive into Wakanda goes, the weirder it gets. Geographically speaking, she gets pings in the northeast near Somalia and Narobia, central between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and one further east by Canaan. She’s beginning to suspect they’re all incorrect, the true location buried even deeper. 

There are documents _missing_. Entirely wiped from all corners of the internet, and it’s more luck than anything else that she notices the first gap. (After that they’re easier to recognize.) It’s masterfully done- way better than how she removed herself from the internet, or Shield redacting her past. 

Skye notes each one, painting a picture of Wakanda in negative space. One thing keeps coming back to her: they don’t give or receive aid. And the suggested image of Wakanda is nearly a utopian paradise, akin to Omelas. Only, there is no child in the corner, just the rest of the world suffering. It isn’t that Skye thinks Wakanda should be responsible for the rest of the world’s problems, only the coldness in never helping others. It strikes her as a billionaire not deigning to give to charity. (But even that comparison is flawed, assuming the billionaire pays taxes. Or that the charities are based in other nations.) She must be missing something.

Or maybe… maybe she isn’t, and this is why Erik sought her out. 

Erik Stevens is easier to research. Kid genius with a tragic past- father dead and mother incarcerated, went to MIT’s grad school at only 19. Became a Navy SEAL and jumped into war, then went off the grid with the CIA. The fact that he gained the nickname ‘Killmonger’ is worrying. Or it should be. More so that is. (Skye blames his face. He could have been a terrifyingly efficient sales man.)

It’s his father’s history, or lack thereof, that has Skye going to the address he gave her. It’s an oversized mansion, because of course it is, and Skye abruptly wonders if he’s retired from intelligence gathering for the government or just taking a vacation between jobs.

This would be one hell of a ridiculous sting operation, especially considering most of her actions have been in a legal gray zone. (Thank god for courts not understanding the internet yet.)

“Sup? You find it? Come in,” Erik greets her, and Skye follows, eyes flicking over the expensive interior. After the gold-flecked hall, there’s a living room, decadent and minimalist with plush leather couches, a tv that takes up half a wall, and bookcases lining the other three sides. 

Erik sprawls out on one of the couches, arms extended as if she’s going to cuddle with him, indecent really how wide his legs are spread- this is Killmonger, she firmly reminds herself, _Kill_monger. 

“Your Dad, he loved taking photos. But there’s none he took younger than twenty-two. In fact, the rest of his carefully constructed young adult backstory checks out. His art was too good, too experienced to have started at twenty-two though. And the few pictures of him young are impersonal, not taken by him.”

“Aight. Your point?”

Skye swallows, “He was Wakandan. It’s why you’re convinced of its importance, without having been there. So. Are you going to tell me what you’re actually trying to pull here?” 

Erik grins, satisfied and catlike, gestures with open palms to the other two couches. 

Skye sits, and Erik begins to tell her a fairy-tale rooted in truth.

**Author's Note:**

> prompt tags: Character should definitely know better, The named characters are by no means the only ones I want btw, kicking names and taking ass, Technically Moral But Legally Dubious


End file.
